Not by dancing, but hey “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Some people find cleaning a relaxing and enjoyable activity, something they look forward to every day. If you’ve landed on this article, though, that’s probably not you. If cleaning is the last thing you want to do, but you still want to live in a neat and tidy space, you’re in luck! We’ve gathered some of the best tips, from the general to the specific, that you can use to keep your home clean in just a few minutes a day—leaving you plenty of time to do things you enjoy more.

Clean up after yourself

If you do this, maintaining a clean home is automatically less work. Almost everything is a lot easier to clean if you do it right away. And if something takes less than 5 minutes to clean, it’s worth it to just do it now instead of putting it off for later.

• Get in the habit of putting things back the way they’re supposed to be after you’re done with them. For example, if you moved blankets and pillows while watching a movie in the living room, take a moment to fold the blanket and fluff the pillows when the movie is over.
• If you have small children who you don’t trust to clean up everything by themselves yet, teach them to tell you about any spills or messes immediately instead of waiting.

Keep frequently used things in convenient places.

Keep things you use often easily accessible. You’ll be more likely to put things away if it’s easy to do so. Use more out-of-the-way storage options for things you only use occasionally. If you take the time to make a place for everything, it’ll be easier to put things back where they go when you’re done with them.

• For example, if you have a hoodie that you wear at least twice a week, you might put a hook on the door where you can hang it for easy access, rather than having to fold it and put it on a shelf in the top of the closet.
• Also you can keep your house keys and car keys on the center table for easy access.

Store cleaning supplies in every room.

Use a plastic bin to organize the specific supplies you need for each room. This makes it easier to clean things up immediately because you don’t have to go around hunting for what you need. Put bathroom cleaners in every bathroom, disinfectants and multi-purpose cleaners in all rooms, and kitchen cleaners in the kitchen.

• If it isn’t possible to have multiple brooms or vacuum cleaners, put these tools in a central location where they can be easily accessed from the entire home. If your home has two floors, though, it’s still worth it to spring for one upstairs and one downstairs so you don’t have to lug them back and forth.
• While this might mean that, initially, you have to buy several bottles of the same cleaning products, they’ll last a lot longer because you’re not using them all over the house. Sure, you’ll spend a little more initially, but it’ll even out.

Have a laundry hamper for each person.

Put the laundry hamper in the area where each person typically changes clothes. Laundry is more likely to pile up in a corner or on the floor of the bathroom if the laundry hamper is inconvenient. Make sure there’s at least one hamper for each person in your household and that they’re all conveniently located.

• If you’re not sure where to put the hamper, look at where the laundry typically piles up. If you’re accustomed to tossing clothes in that spot, putting a hamper there won’t change anything—it’ll just make it look neater.
• If you have a washer and dryer in your home, get in the habit of immediately doing laundry when the hamper is full.

Set up a donation box.

Keep a single box for things you no longer use. If you have a hall closet, that’s a good place to put your donation box. If space is tight, you can also hang a bag on a hook inside a closet door. Clearly label your box or bag for donations, and put things into it as you go. When the box is full, take it to your favorite donation center.

• This is also helpful if you have children. As soon as a child grows out of something, put it straight into the donation box so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.
• If you get in the habit of putting things into the box regularly, your closets and storage areas will always look neater and you won’t have to tackle the hours-long task of sorting through things once or twice a year.

Make your bed every morning.

A tidy bed lifts the entire room and makes it look neater. Even if you have a few things out of place, if your bed is made, the room is already going to look a lot better. It really only takes a couple of minutes every morning to make your bed. Once you get in the habit of it, you won’t miss the time.

• Making your bed every morning has a motivating effect as well. If you start your day by making your bed, that’s one task that you’ve already successfully completed. It puts you in the frame of mind to complete other tasks as well.

Spray the tub or shower after every use.

The steam and hot water from your shower or bath loosen grime. Your tub or shower is a lot easier to clean immediately after you get done using it. Doing this also keeps any dirt or soap scum from building up, so you never have to worry about scrubbing.

• If you keep the bottle of cleaner sitting in or next to your shower or tub, it’ll remind you to do a quick spray when you get out. Then, after you’ve dried, you can quickly wipe down the shower or tub when you hang up your towel.

Use an empty box or basket to gather up clutter.

Take things that don’t belong in that room and put them in your basket. Tidying up a room takes a lot longer when you have to walk back and forth to put things away. Simply pick up everything in the room that doesn’t belong there and put it in a box or basket. Then, carry the basket with you and drop things off in the rooms where they belong.

• These baskets are handy in common rooms that multiple people use, such as your living room, dining room, or den.
• Find time during the day to gather things up—it should only take a minute or so—and then you can distribute them when you have a chance. For example, if you’re leaving the living room to go to your bedroom, take a second to grab anything in the box or basket that belongs in your bedroom and take it with you.

Wipe down flat surfaces.

Use a duster or a slightly damp rag to wipe off shelves, tables, and counters. This shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes and can easily be done while you’re doing something else, such as watching a program on TV. If you wipe off flat surfaces every day, things will always look a lot cleaner and dust and grime won’t accumulate.

• Get in the habit of wiping things off as soon as you use them also. For example, it only takes a minute to wipe the table off after you’ve cleared the dishes from dinner.

Sweep or vacuum high-traffic areas.

Take 5 minutes each day to clean the floors around doors and in hallways. The areas where people tend to walk the most are going to get the most dirt. Sweeping every day keeps this dirt from building up and also ensures no one will track it through the rest of the house.

• Sweeping the porch or entryway outside your door also limits the amount of outside dirt and debris people bring inside with them.

Close down the kitchen every night.

Treat it as though you’re shutting down the kitchen in a restaurant. Make it a habit to never go to bed with a dirty kitchen. Take care of the dishes, clean and disinfect all the surfaces and handles, and sweep up any debris on the floor. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.

• If you have housemates that are on different schedules, give the kitchen closing duties to whoever is the last person to use it. As long as everyone is cleaning up their own messes, it shouldn’t be too big of a deal.
• If you have a dishwasher, start it at night (if it’s full), then it’ll be ready for you to unload the morning while you’re making breakfast or brewing your coffee.

Clean your toilet as part of your bedtime routine.

Squirt the toilet bowl cleaner in the bowl, then let it sit while you brush your teeth. After you’re done brushing your teeth, washing your face, and whatever else you do at night to get ready for bed, give the toilet a quick scrub and a flush. That’s all you need to keep the toilet bowl fresh!

Dust thoroughly in each room once a week.

Work from top to bottom and left to right to thoroughly dust a room. Using this method means any dust or debris that gets swept off won’t fall on an area you’ve already cleaned. This more thorough dusting gets the dust that might gather in more hard-to-reach places.

• For example, you might dust your bedroom on Monday, the living room on Tuesday, and the kitchen on Wednesday.
• Accumulated dust can affect the air quality in your home and make it more difficult to breathe, so this task is as much for your health as it is for the sake of cleanliness.

Clean the floors once a week.

Mop or vacuum your way out of one room each day. Schedule a room (or two, depending on the size of your home) for each day of the week so you’re not doing them all at once—it’s a good idea to dust and clean the floor on the same day. Then, you can do the floor in that room on the same day each week. Start at the back corner of the room and mop or vacuum towards the door. Then, when you leave the room, you’ll be done cleaning it!

• For example, you might vacuum your bedroom carpet on Monday, mop the living room on Tuesday, and mop the kitchen on Wednesday.
• School-age children can typically be taught to clean the floor in their own bedrooms.

Create a deep-cleaning schedule.

Set dates for larger cleaning projects that only need to be done every few months. A lot of cleaning tasks only need to be done about once every calendar quarter, twice a year, or even yearly. Schedule these tasks on a household calendar and set reminders so you’ll know when they need to be done. Here are some tasks to get you started:

• Wipe down inside your fridge and freezer (every 3-6 months)
• Clean inside your oven (every 3-6 months)
• Wash pillows and comforters (every 3-6 months)
• Wash drapes and curtains (every year)
• Deep-clean windows (every year)
• Deep-clean carpets and upholstery (every year)

Lighting trends ranging from overhead pendants, elegant sculptural shapes and styles and bespoke fittings, these are just some of the lighting trends our experts have predicted will set the design world alight for 2022.

Lighting is an essential component to a successful design scheme yet is so much more important in wintertime, when the days are shorter and we spend far more time indoors than usual.

Thanks to the pandemic, our focus has been drawn into our homes and we’re acutely aware of how important it is for our homes to be both comfortable and beautiful. So while everything – including lighting – needs to have a purpose, it also needs to look good.

LIGHTING TRENDS 2022

We asked a panel of lighting experts and interior design insiders on what they expect the biggest lighting trends to be in 2022. So read on to discover what is set to brighten our lives next year and beyond…

1. USE LIGHTING AS A DESIGN FOCAL POINT

“Don’t be afraid to go bold with your ceiling lighting,’ Valentina continues, ‘larger spaces can take more daring pieces but don’t shy away from unconventional light fittings in smaller spaces, especially if you dial back some other design elements.’

‘Use pairs of lamps to accentuate a beautiful sideboard or console table, or frame a larger piece of furniture such as a sofa or bed.

‘Floor lamps are dutiful and elegant and can be placed next to an armchair or sofa to create a comfortable reading spot. Or light up that dark, forgotten corner of your hallway with a statement design to breathe new life into your home.’

BY JENNIFER EBERT

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 22, 2021

If you’re planning your first home renovation project, you’re probably feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety. Home renovations can transform your living experience and improve your comfort and quality of life, but the process of making these renovations can be costly and time-consuming and exhaust homeowners with an endless stream of decisions.

Preparation can help you control renovation costs and make tough decisions throughout the process. Here are five tips to help you plan a successful home renovation.

1. Understand the goals of your renovation.

Different renovation projects will prioritize different goals. Some homeowners—especially older residents who plan to stay in their homes for a long time—will pursue renovations that prioritize their comfort and enjoyment of their home. In these cases, the cost and subsequent home value increase won’t matter to them, because they’re making a lifestyle choice.

Younger homeowners are less likely to be putting down long-term roots, so they may be a different story. They will typically be more concerned about controlling costs and pursuing renovation projects that add value to their home, such as adding another bathroom.

These homeowners may recognize that they’re likely to move to another home in the future, so renovation goals might be centered around upgrading the home while also making it more attractive to future buyers.

2. Solicit quotes from multiple contractors to find the best value.

Before you hire a contractor, meet with at least three different contractors and request detailed bids for your home renovation project.

Each contractor will likely provide their own cost estimate based on your renovation plan. In addition, you will need to balance the reputation of each contractor, along with their availability and other factors, to determine who is the right fit for your project.

3. Have a financing plan in place before you start the project.

The worst thing you can do is start a kitchen remodel and run out of money halfway through. Don’t start large remodeling projects without a clear understanding of how those costs will be covered.

The safest option is to save up all the money you need for a home renovation before you start your project. But you might also use a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to cover these expenses. Some borrowers may also be interested in a home improvement loan.

4. Give yourself a financial cushion to cover unexpected costs.

Additional expenses happen. You might discover, in the course of doing a renovation project, that your home has suffered unseen water damage or that it requires more extensive electrical work to address safety issues. Always prepare for these costs by allocating additional money beyond the budgeted amount.

Experts recommend saving up 20 percent more than the cost of your desired home renovation project to provide a cushion for these expenses.

5. If money is tight, appliances and finishing surfaces are one way to cut costs.

During the course of some home renovations, you might face a situation in which mounting costs require you to cut expenses elsewhere. The most common way to do this is by scaling back on the quality of appliances and finishes.

During a kitchen remodel, for example, you might opt for a cheaper fridge to save a few hundred dollars, or you might swap out granite countertops for quartz. In other parts of the home, vinyl or tile flooring may be installed instead of wood, which tends to be more expensive.

And if you still need to save money, consider adding some sweat equity to your home. Instead of paying a professional, you can complete certain home renovation tasks on your own, and doing so could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars off of the cost of your remodel.

Don’t let home renovations become a money pit. Use careful planning and research to understand the costs before you get started. The more preparation you do before the project begins, the easier the renovation process will be—especially on your finances.

Article By

First State Community Bank